Why your pre-workout meal is important

Nutrition is integral when it comes to the energy needed to perform strength or endurance training, just like the nutrition needed for recovery post-workout.

Why is there a need for pre-exercise nutrition? Fuelling up before a workout is required to give you an extra boost in order to maximise your workout, or else you will limit your abilities. Pre-workout food or supplement has an impact on your body composition, energy levels, immunity, mental focus, fitness level and overall recovery, Aman Puri, Founder, Steadfast Nutrition said.

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Importance of pre-exercise nutrition

The timing and composition of the meal are important for improving performance, Puri says.

Provides sustained energy: Carbohydrates help fuel your body and delay muscular fatigue. A balanced pre workout meal supplies energy for longer duration to the body, which allows you to perform more reps before dropping out.

Improves endurance: It helps improve your muscular endurance and your stamina level. Although, few research studies suggest this and more studies are needed. In a study done by Jagim et al, 2016, the participants consumed pre-workout meal before running on a treadmill, they were able to run 12.5 percent longer than those the placebo group.

May improve mental focus: It might help enhance cognitive processes such as alertness, focus, reaction time, perception of energy and mood.

May improve body composition: It has been observed that long term consumption of a good pre-workout meal or supplement, when combined with a resistance training programme, leads to a greater increase in lean muscle mass.

What to eat 2-3 hours before you exercise?

Timings and type of pre-exercise nutrition have significant importance. A meal or a supplement, which is carbohydrate-rich in combination with some protein helps increase liver glycogen (stored energy) and muscle glycogen stores. Also, such benefits are more apparent in long-duration

Indo-Asian News Service